Seahawks begin a new era by landing the top QB on the free agency market in Sam Darnold to replace Geno Smith
The future is now in Seattle
The Seattle Seahawks' offseason of change has its newest chapter.
With the team quickly moving on from recently traded Geno Smith and landing their new starting quarterback in Sam Darnold.
Seahawks sign Sam Darnold to be their new starting QB
Darnold was the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the New York Jets. His time with the team wouldn't live up to his draft hype and would only last three years in New York. His next stint as a starter was with the Carolina Panthers and there won eight games in the 20 games he appeared in. He would have to take a year off as a starter by signing with the San Francisco 49ers to be Brock Purdy's backup.
This brings us to last season, when he joined the Minnesota Vikings as their starter and went on to have the best season of his career. He led the Vikings to a 14-3 record and threw for career highs with 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. And now, he's cashing in on a three-year, $100.5 million contract to be the Seahawks' starting quarterback. He won't have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Seattle, but I'm sure he'll quickly learn to love Jaxson Smith-Njigba.
Words from our Vikings' beat writer on Sam Darnold
Darnold had a renaissance in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings. Doing so was huge for both his future and the third year of the Kevin O’Connell era, going 14-3 before losing in the wild card round. The key to his success was two fold: having a very good infrastructure and a coaching staff that embraced his chaos. He loves to hold onto the football and attack down the field. He was also the best quarterback in nearly every category on throws that go 20+ yards down the field because of it, but it brought a few extra interceptions and a lot of sacks. If you embrace who Darnold is, you can continue the success from 2024.
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